Diverted Flights
by mak4
Summary: Diverted flights, odd visitors... this is definitely not a regular day. Eventually YoBling and Snickers.
1. What's in a Name

We own nothing, except for Lara and Tempeste. Who, by the way, are not Mary Sues. Well, they sort of are, but they weren't written for this purpose. They characters from our own, _original_ story that we started in grade ten (I think). Anyway, I wrote this for Kat because it was funny, and they decided to change and evolve it a bit so that I could post it as a fanfic. Yay!

Greg Sanders had had a particularly rough night of work. A triple homicide had forced him to pull a double, which was never fun. And because of short-staffing, he'd been forced to double as labtech and CSI, which was just generally irritating, no matter how much Sara tried to convince him it was a compliment to his lab expertise. Right now he just wanted to go home, take a hot shower, and crawl into bed until his next shift. 

"Hey, Greggo!"

He looked up to see Nick and Warrick heading toward him. "Yeah?" he asked, somewhat warily, worried they had more DNA for him to process.

Nick grinned. "Hey, relax man. We're just going out for drinks. D'you want to come too?"

"Sure." He felt immensely relieved as they headed into the lobby, but Greg stopped when he saw a familiar figure on the bench. "Lara!"

She stood up. "Hi Greg."

"What are you doing here?"

Lara shrugged. "Diverted flight. Looks like I'm stuck here for a couple of days." She smiled. "Damn."

"Right." Greg turned to Nick and Warrick." I'm going to take a rain check on those drinks." He and Lara headed out the door, ignoring the wolf whistles behind them.

Greg being no real loss, Nick and Warrick headed to the bar anyway. Because it was only four o'clock in the afternoon, the bar was nearly empty. That was why it was hard not to notice the pretty girl who came in about an hour later. She looked to be in her early twenties, tall with dark hair and green eyes. She ordered a drink and sat by herself at a table close to theirs.

"Hey man, she is totally checking you out," Warrick told Nick.

Nick turned around to look. "No, I think she's checking you out."

Warrick looked closer, and then stared at Nick. "She's checking us _both _out."

Nick finished his drink. "Twenty bucks says I'll get her first."

Warrick grinned. "You're on."

Nick headed to her table, Warrick close behind him.

When they reached her table, the girl grinned at both of them. "I was wondering how long it would take you to come over. Sit down."

Taken aback, they both did. Warrick recovered first. "I'm Warrick; this is my friend, Nick. And you are…?"

"Tempeste. Jones."

"Tempeste?" Nick repeated skeptically. "Come on sweetheart, you can tell us your real name."

Tempeste laughed. "That is my real name, honest! Would you like to see some ID, officer?"

Warrick looked at her. "How did you know we were with the PD?"

Tempeste shrugged. "Lucky guess?" She looked at them critically. "Although I'm going to say you're not actually cops, you're quiet for that. You seem to be more of behind-the-scenes boys." She was quiet for a minute, mulling it over. "Hm… let me guess… crime scene investigators?"

Warrick and Nick both stared at her. "How did you _know_ that?" Nick asked.

She shrugged again. "What can I say; I have amazing observational skills… which led me to observe the CSI ID badge sticking out of your jacket."

Nick grinned. "Alright then, Tempeste. What brings you to Vegas? Business, or pleasure?"

Warrick rolled his eyes, but Tempeste smiled. "A bit of both, I guess. I'm on my way home from a… business trip, but I'm stranded here for a couple of days."

"Well at least you're in Vegas," Warrick said. "There are worse places to be stuck."

Tempeste shrugged again. "I'm not much of a gambler. I guess I'll just have to find… other ways of occupying my time." As she spoke, her index fingers slid over the rim of her glass and then across her lower lip. Both men gulped. Tempeste got to her feet. "Well, I'm going back to my hotel." She walked about two tables away before stopping and looking back. "Are you coming?"

They both looked at each other. "Which one of us were you talking to?"

"Both of you, of course."

They looked at each other again and shrugged. "What the hell?" They headed for the door.

"Hold up guys," Warrick said when they had gotten outside. "I forgot my jacket." He went back in, leaving Nick and Tempeste to wait.

He's been gone less than five seconds when Greg came down the street. His arm was slung around Lara's shoulder as he told her about his latest scientific discovery. They looked quite comfortable, but Lara stopped dead at the sight of Tempeste.

"Temp!"

"Lara? Who is this?"

"I'm Greg," he said. "And w-Nick?"

"Hi Greg."

And at that moment, Warrick came back. "Sorry guys, it slipped under the table-Greg?"

Greg's eyebrows shot straight up and his chin dropped. "Warrick? Nick?" He kept looking from one to the other as if he'd never seen them before.

"Tempeste!" Lara sounded impressed.

"Lara." Tempeste glanced quickly at Greg. "Gavin?" she asked pointedly.

"Gavin?" Greg turned to Lara in confusion.

She ignored him. "Gabriel?" she retorted.

"Gabriel and I aren't-"

"Dating, I know," Lara finished.

Greg had gone back to staring at Warrick and Nick in absolute shock. "I never would have thought… Warrick and _Nick_?"

Rolling her eyes, Lara grabbed Greg's hand, and they started down the street again. "Hey babe?" she called back. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

"Yeah," Nick muttered. "But we _live_ in Vegas. And we work with _him_."

Lara and Greg continued down the street, Greg still muttering on. "I just can't believe that Warrick and Nick… I mean, I've been working with them for _six years_."

Lara rolled her eyes. "Greg, forget about it."

"Yeah. But, I mean, I just never thought… it's so _weird_."

"Greg! Forget about it."

"Yeah, but this is huuuge."

Lara rolled her eyes, and shoved Greg against the wall. She kissed him, biting his lips gently as she did so. Reaching under his shirt, she slid her hands up his side. "There," she said, pulling away. "_Now _can we talk about something else?"

Greg blinked. "Um, sure." Then he seemed to catch a hold of himself. "Actually, how about we do something else, that doesn't involve talking?" He kissed her again, until they were both short on breath. "Your place or mine?" he muttered.

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Warrick, Nick, and Tempeste were still standing outside the bar, not quite sure what to say. Tempeste smiled. "Well, I guess I'll be going then." She looked at them hopelessly. "I take it you're not coming?"

Nick and Warrick looked at each other. Despite the fiasco with Greg, they were still quite drunk, and Tempeste was very hot. It was Warrick who spoke. "What the hell. The damage has already been done. We might as well get something out of it."

A wide grin spread across Tempeste's face. "Well in that case, let's get the hell out of here." She linked arms with both of them, setting of down the street toward her hotel. After all, there were only eight more hours until they had to go back to work.

Which, as it turned out, wasn't really enough time, and Warrick and Nick were left scrambling for clothes ten minutes before work while Tempeste laughed.

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Greg walked down the hall, humming to himself. He'd had a very good day. He stopped though, as he passed the staff room window, and saw who was inside. Greg slid into the room. "Hello Nick. Warrick."

Nick and Warrick, who had been talking to Catherine, immediately stopped. Nick's eyes widened, Warrick choked on his drink, and they both avoided looking at anyone, particularly each other.

Catherine looked from one to the other. "Did I miss something here?"

"Oh, I'd say so," Greg agreed, pouring a cup of coffee and adding copious amounts of sugar to his coffee. (Because that's what he needs. More sugar.) "I think that Nick a-" He was cut off as Nick stood up and punched him squarely in the shoulder. "Ow! That hurt. Abuse, man." He turned around too quickly and spilled some of the coffee on his hand. "Fuck," he announced, sucking on his burnt fingers.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing," Nick answered quickly. "Greg was just leaving. To do lots and lots of DNA work, weren't you?"

Greg backed away toward the door. "Hey man, all I'm saying is that this lab has far more history than you can possibly imagine. And I'm not talking about the building." He picked up his coffee and nursed his sore fingers with a hurt look at Nick. "Hey, I can keep a secret, so be nice." He left again.

Catherine looked at them. "I'm sorry, but that was weird even for Greg. And since when do you punch people Nicky? What's going on?"

"Nothing." Warrick and Nick said at the same time.

Warrick got to his feet. "Cath, you should know better than anyone that everyone here has a secret." He left, and Nick just shrugged at her.

"Yeah," she said. "But I _know_ everyone's secrets."


	2. Problems and Introductions

So we've decided to continue this fic… well, I'm not really sure why. But we keep getting these great ideas, how can we not keep going? So enjoy!

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"So. I take it you had an… interesting night."

Tempeste looked at Lara. "Shut up," she laughed, looking out the window. "The boys are coming."

A minute later the bell rang on the café door, and two rather dejected-looking young men joined them, both with shaggy black hair. They took seats at the booth.

"Why so glum?" Lara asked the one beside her. "Don't tell me Smithy couldn't get us a flight out." She didn't really sound that bothered.

"It's worse," he answered with a thick Scottish accent. "This is where we're working for the next few months."

"Really?" Both Tempeste and Lara looked up in interest. "Gee, that's terrible," Tempeste added somewhat emptily.

"Speak for yourself. I've had bad experiences in Vegas," he said.

"Yeah, and I'm supposed to be on vacation," the other man whined. "I was going to Disneyland!"

They all stared at him.

"With Ben," he muttered.

"Suuuure Gabriel." Lara rolled her eyes. "Hey! I can realize my life-long dream of being a Vegas showgirl!"

The first man snorted. "You wish."

"No Gavin, you wish."

"Well, yeah. But sweetheart, you're a certified genius. There's no way you get off being a stripper."

"Showgirl!"

"Fine, showgirl."

"So where _are_ we working?"

"The Las Vegas Crime Lab. Sounds important, no?"

Lara choked on her drink. "What?"

"Apparently it'll be good for us," Gabriel explained. "Something about seeing how discipline works." He shrugged. "I don't know; I wasn't really paying attention. But we're starting right away."

"Oh." Tempeste looked slightly relieved. "So tomorrow morning then?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? Like _we'd_ be given a day shift? Please, that would make our lives easy."

Lara took a deep breath. "So… when _are_ we working?" She tried to look calm, though she was inwardly chanting, 'Not the graveyard shift, not the graveyard shift.'

"The graveyard shift," Gavin answered cheerily. Lara groaned. "I know. It's bad enough we're stuck here, but now our nights are shot as well."

"Yeah. That's what's bothering me."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Gabriel finished Tempeste's soda. "Well, I'm off. I'm going to enjoy my last chance at Vegas nightlife if it kills me."

"Yeah." Gavin got to his feet. "I'll come too." He turned back to the girls. "Are you coming?"

"Um… no," Lara said. "We'll hang out here for a while. Catch up with you later."

"Suit yourself." They left.

"Well shit."

"Lara, we _can't_ work the graveyard shift. It just… it won't work!"

"Okay, Temp. Well you can be the one to tell everyone to find us new jobs, because between the two of us we've managed to sleep with half the graveyard shift CSIs."

"Wow." Tempeste grew silent. "You know, when you consider that it was only one night, that actually sounds quite impressive."

"Yeah, I know."

"So what do we do?"

Lara shrugged. "Pretending nothing happened always works for me."

Tempeste gave her an incredulous look. "Are you serious?"

"Well think about it. Who's going to tell? Judging by their reaction, I have a funny feeling that Warrick and Nick aren't going to be spreading it around that they _both_ spent the night…day with you. And Greg may be a dork but even he has some sense. If we work together, he gets to look at me, if he lets on that we shag every once in awhile, one of us gets transferred or fired, and he doesn't get to look at me anymore. It's surprisingly simple."

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"So, are you ready?" Lara asked with a grim smile as she and Tempeste walked down the hallway. They were just steps behind the boys, who were following Ecklie. A moment later they stopped.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen." Ecklie's snide voice rang out, and Lara pulled a face. She hadn't really warmed to him. "We have four new members joining us tonight. Gavin O'Rourke will be replacing Bobby while he's on sick leave. Gabriel Lawrence will be helping Archie as a computer technician. Tempeste Lawrence is a new CSI Level One, and finally Lara Paradis is our new lab technician.

Greg promptly snorted coffee up his nose and began choking.

Ecklie continued as if he hadn't noticed. "I expect you all to treat them respectfully, and try not to scare them off. And Sanders, please stop that horrible noise." He stalked away.

"I'm fine!" Greg called after him. "Thanks for asking!" He coughed a couple more times. Warrick and Nick were staring at Tempeste with shock.

Gabriel, oblivious as ever, walked forward. "Hey, nice to meet you, I'm Gabriel. Mr. Tight-Pants didn't bother introducing you-_ow_!"

Tempeste smacked his arm again. "Once again Gabriel, you have managed to prove yourself completely inept. Point A, Ecklie is our new head supervisor, and you should learn a bit more about him before you start insulting him. Point B, someone in this room might actually like the uptight asshat, and could report you back to him. They say you're somewhat intelligent, but I have yet to see _any shred of evidence_! I mean, shit Gabriel, you always leap in head first without checking how deep the water is!"

Gabriel glared at her. "And you just can't stand it when someone does something outside your little perfectly structured world, with all your perfect rules! Well here's a newsflash darling, if you want someone to play inside those rules, you need to let them know what they are, because in all the time I've known you, you never let anyone in."

Greg started coughing again, much more harshly than he had before. With a half-smile, half-terrified look on his face, Warrick slapped the ex-lab rat hard enough to send him reeling into the table.

Almost expanding in anger, Tempeste prepared to let loose against her 6'2 offender, but Lara stepped forward, sliding between the two. "Hello, don't worry this happens all the time. You get used to it—they actually do work really well together, they just communicate with anger. Anyway, why don't you guys introduce yourselves, and we'll keep the children apart." She spoke with faint accent that wasn't quite possible to place. Grinning almost evilly, she shoved Tempeste in the direction of Nick, pushing Gabriel in front of her as she made her way to the table.

"So Laura, right?" Greg questioned, slipping into the seat across from her with a sly wink.

"It's Lara."

Catherine smiled, trying to hide her worry about the sudden appearance of new members of their team. "Like _Dr. Zhivago_, right?"

Lara grinned at the older CSI. "Yup, that's it. Anyway, like the man said, I'm Lara, this is Gavin," the tall man still leaning against the doorframe waved, "Gabriel is sitting next to me, and Tempeste is the one glaring at Gabby. Don't worry though, she's very nice, extremely level-headed and pretty laid back. Until Gabriel is brought into the equation, that is."

Grissom gestured between the two fuming new comers. "Are you two dating?"

"NO!" The vehement denial came from either side of the table.

"Not if he were the last man on earth."

"And there were no sheep." Gabriel added with something akin to a snarl.

"That's right, you just love the animals, dontcha?"

Warrick looked over at Gavin, still remaining apart from the group surrounding the table. "You know man, feel free to come sit down."

"No thanks." Gavin replied with a grin, surprising everyone else with his thick Scottish accent. "Watching the Tempeste and Gabriel show is much more fun from afar. They're in fine fettle for your introductions. Which, by the way, we haven't quite gotten yet."

Warrick grinned at the laid back man, figuring that they would become pretty good friends. "Warrick Brown, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Gavin crossed over in a few long strides and shook Warrick's hand. "But seriously, don't judge us from those two. Not to mention that they're both quite nice when they're apart. Lara here just keeps throwing them together in hopes that they'll eventually realize their undying passion, or some such rubbish. The girl likes to play with volatile substances."

Grissom cleared his throat. "As nice as all this is, we still have work to do. Could we step things up a bit? I haven't even given out assignments yet."

Nick raised his hand. "Nick Stokes, level three."

"Catherine Willows, level three."

"Sara Sidle, level three."

"Greg Sanders, level one."

"Gil Grissom, supervisor. Now that that's out of the way, Greg, you'll be staying in the lab tonight, finishing up the analysis from last shift and getting Lara acquainted with everything. For that matter, take Gabriel and Gavin with you, give them a tour, then get them set up." Greg mock-saluted, not even complaining about being stuck inside the lab, considering it meant that he got to spend some more time with Lara. "Nick, Sara and Warrick, you have a B and E on Nottingham. Tempeste, you're on a 419 with Catherine and myself."

The suddenly enlarged team separated, going their separate ways for the time being, several worried about the fireworks that might explode when they were together again.


	3. Anectodal Evidence

Hello everyone! It's time for another chapter that nobody's reading. Althogether now: Yaaay!

Right, sorry about that. So, once again we own nothing except for Lara and Tempeste. Oh, and Gavin and Gabriel. They're ours too, those sometimes we wouldn't mind giving them away.

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Gavin, Gabriel and Lara trooped through the building, following Greg who was giving them the grand tour. It was taking quite awhile, because every new space they were shown was presented with a Greg anecdote: when he dropped baby powder in the locker room, leading to an emergency evacuation of the building; getting stuck in the room during his first solo interrogation; Bobby, the gun man, shooting himself in the leg (which, evidently, was why he needed replacement)… the list went on.

He introduced them to Archie, who looked incredibly relieved to be getting assistance. He stood up and shook Gabriel's hand vigorously. "Man, I am _swamped_. There's computer technology being used everywhere now, and not nearly enough experts to get through it all… can you start right now?"

"Um, oh-kay," Gabriel agreed. He shrugged. "Just tell me what to do."

While Archie launched into techie mode, the others left. And Lara was alone with Gavin and Greg. They headed over to the DNA labs. "This is where you'll be working." Greg told Lara. "Um, Mia's gone to Boston to take care of her aunt, so you'll be here with either Wendy or Hodges. Wendy's sweet, but she's off tonight. Hodges is… supposed to be here. I don't know where he is." He looked around quickly. "Okay, Hodges is just… weird. He's arrogant and ridiculously narcissistic and lives in a hole and… he's right behind me, isn't he?" Greg turned around quickly. "Oh… hi Hodges. How are you?" Without a word, Hodges turned and stalked away. "See, I told you he was weird," Greg muttered before running after him. "Wait! You have to meet the new people!"

"So." Gavin grinned at Lara. "What d'you think?"

"It's not bad," she answered.

"Well, _I'm_ thinking these rooms all have far too many windows."

Lara rolled her eyes. "Gavin."

"Although," he continued as though he hadn't heard her, "I suppose there's always the locker room…" He wrapped his arms around her waist. "…The supply room…"

"Not now Gavin."

"Aw, come on," he muttered into her neck. "Nobody's looking."

"Yes, but we're supposed to be working." She pulled away and noticed Greg and Hodges, standing just a few feet down the hall. Lara closed her eyes, wanting to kick herself. And Gavin. And Ecklie too, just for good measure.

"So!" Greg said, breaking the tense silence." Hodges, this is Gavin, who's replacing Bobby, and Lara, the new lab tech."

Ignoring Gavin completely, Hodges turned to Lara. "I am the head lab tech. This is my DNA lab, you do what I say." Lara nodded, trying to look as though she took him seriously. Evidently he seemed satisfied because he started to turn away. "Oh!" He looked back. "And I don't train newbies." He left.

Greg grinned. "He's a liar. Everyone knows you do what Catherine says. And don't worry, I'll train you."

"Thanks." Lara smiled slightly in return.

Gavin looked from one to the other. "Well… I guess I should get started working."

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Almost nervously Tempeste followed Catherine and Grissom into the small suburban house. It wasn't the thought of dead bodies that bothered her, it was what Catherine and Grissom would think of her. First days had always made her slightly nervous.

Still, nobody seemed to have any issues as they started processing the scene. It did, however, seem ridiculously quiet, in that horrendous, awkward way.

Finally Grissom spoke. "I'm sorry. Before you get started here, I just need to know: is there going to be a problem with you and Gabriel?"

"What?" Tempeste looked up quickly. "Oh, no. I'm really sorry about earlier, I've just been having a bad day. But don't worry, we've been working together for a couple of years. When we work, we're completely professional."

They were interrupted by the tinny sounds of Für Elise. Grissom pulled out his cell phone. "Grissom."

Immediately the sound of Ecklie's voice rang through the small speaker, indistinct but angry. Both Tempeste and Catherine tried to look as though they weren't listening as Grissom took his call. "Yes… yes. No. No, absolutely not. Yes… No Co-" He sighed heavily. "Alright Conrad, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone, and Catherine and Tempeste immediately became fascinated with the floor. "I have to go back to the lab. Catherine, I expect you can take over here?"

Catherine nodded, and Grissom headed out the door.

Tempeste looked up. "Wow… Ecklie's a real dickhead, isn't he?"

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said to Gabriel that you should find out more about your head supervisor and the rest of the team before you start insulting him in front of us."

Tempeste nodded. "Yeah, but I'm more observant than Gabriel. When I called Ecklie an uptight asshat, you smiled like you were trying not to laugh. I figured it was pretty safe. Not to mention, does _anyone_ actually like that guy?"

Catherine started to laugh. "You have a fair point." Immediately the tension in the room relaxed. As they worked, Catherine began to hum Hey Mickey.

When Tempeste realized what she was humming, she began to sing softly under her breath, "Hey Nicky, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind," as she photographed the scene. Catherine grinned at the lyric change and joined in. An instant later they were both belting the song out at the top of their lungs.

They shared another grin as the song ended, both returning diligently to their tasks. The two worked in comfortable near-silence, finding an easy pattern, as if they had been working together for ages, rather than hours. Both were meticulous, paying minute attention to every inch of the crime scene, using every one of their senses to locate any shred of evidence.

A short time later, Catherine's cell phone rang too. She picked it up. "Hello? Hey Linds, what's up?" There was a long pause. "No, absolutely not. I don't care if the _president_ is going. Lindsey, you have school tomorrow and-" She stopped talking abruptly and looked at her phone before putting it away.

Figuring it was ridiculous to pretend she hadn't been listening, Tempeste glanced at her. "Did she hang up on you?"

Catherine nodded. "She wanted to go to some concert…"

"Don't worry about it. She'll figure out eventually that you're only taking care of her."

Catherine seemed to forget that she hadn't even known Tempeste for a full two hours. "I just don't think I've been a very good mother."

Tempeste looked at her critically. "Do you make her feel like she's the lowest piece of scum on the earth?"

Catherine looked at her, incredulous. "_No_!"

Tempeste shrugged. "Then you're doing better than mine ever did, and I turned out alright." Catherine stared at her in shock, and Tempeste seemed to realize what she'd said. "So… how long have you been working here?"

Catherine stared at her for a minute longer, and then decided that it was better not to ask. Not yet, anyway. "Well, I guess it will be nine years this fall…"


	4. Over Ecklie's Head

This chapter is dedicated to Rojaji, our only reviewer and, as far as we know, reader. Thanks for the support! And believe us, we were only expecting it to be a one shot too.

And if you're reading this, and are just too lazy to review, come on guys, make us feel good! We're review junkies. And if you review, you might get your very own specially dedicated chapter!

We own Lara, Tempeste, Gabriel, Gavin, and nothing else. Although, you know, if somebody wants to _give_ me Greg, I'm definitely not gonna complain.

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Archie and Gabriel had finished up the backlog of work that had been growing continually, and were now running the computers through a defrag, cleaning up all the access that had accumulated. The two were rolling their chairs back and forth across the room as they waited for the program to finish running and reboot, discussing the newest members of the team and whatever Archie could tell Gabriel about his co-workers. He had just finished filling Gabriel in on the problems Nick had had in the past few years, when he abruptly changed the subject.

"So…are either Tempeste or Lara single?" At Archie's question Gabriel quirked an eyebrow.

"Well Lara and Gavin are together… at least, they were the last time I checked. I don't know, Lara's been kind of weird lately." He rolled his eyes. "Who knows. Girls, right?"

Archie grinned in response. "I know what you mean." They grew silent. "So… Lara's hands off, and Tempeste is… yours?"

Gabriel snorted. "Hardly."

"Oh, sorry… I just sort of assumed. You know, you were avoiding mentioning her and everything."

"I wasn't _avoiding_ anything. I just… um… I don't know. I mean, I think she's single, but I don't really bother, so… I wouldn't know."

"Right." Archie's eyebrows rose as he glanced back over at the computer.

"Hey man, look. Tempeste is hot and everything, but believe me. There is _nothing_ between us. Zip, nada, nyet."

Archie just shook his head. "I didn't say anything." He tried not to laugh, and then spun his chair around. "So… first one to the door and back wins?"

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Greg stood next to Lara in the DNA lab, watching her become accustomed to the machines and set-up. "So…you and Gavin then?"

Lara cleared her throat, almost afraid to look up from the microscope in front of her. "Yeah."

An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two for a moment, until they both started talking at once.

"I'm really sorry and I really like you and I never expected anything like this to happen and I never wanted to hurt you and I'm so sorry!"

"I totally get it, so don't even worry, I mean it's not like I haven't been dating when you weren't in Las Vegas, I mean I do have a life outside of work, and don't worry I'm fine."

The silence returned, with Greg staring at his feet and Lara fidgeting nervously. Hodges walked in, informing Greg that Grissom wanted to see him. Greg was almost out the door when he turned back to Lara. "I was just wondering, you know, if you'd been here, and not there and he-"

Lara didn't even let him finish. "You. Every time."

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Gavin make a quick call to Smithy from the ballistics room, once he was sure he was alone. Nothing about it would have sounded suspicious, but at the same time one couldn't be too careful.

"Hey Mum, yeah it's Gavin…Things look really good here, Las Vegas has a sweet set-up…Tell Dad he doesn't need to worry, I know how to take care of myself in a new city." He chuckled. "Yeah, I'll take care of Lara too. Yup, sounds good. Ok mum, take care. Temp and Gabby send their love as well. Night Mum." Snapping the phone closed he smiled, leaning back in his chair. As far as things went, this was pretty sweet.

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Grissom walked into Ecklie's office, shutting the door behind him. Without waiting for an invitation, he took a seat in front of the desk.

Ecklie looked up at him. "Okay Grissom, I want to know what's going on."

"I'm sorry Conrad, I don't know what you mean."

"Please. Four geniuses -literally- end up on your unit, and you don't know anything about it? It's odd enough that they all came at the same time, all knowing each other previously. But to come with instructions that they all be placed on the graveyard shift? It's unheard of."

Grissom shrugged his shoulders, leaning back comfortably. "Well Conrad, if it's that important to you, I'm sure we could make some staff changes and move someone to days."

Ecklie looked increasingly more agitated. "The instructions were very clear and very strict -they are to remain on graveyard. There will be no transfers. You've gone over my head Grissom, and I want to know how and with whom."

"I can assure you, I didn't. The first I heard of all this was when you introduced them earlier this evening."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I have no reason to lie to you, Conrad. I'll gladly admit that there have been, and most likely will be in the future, times when I'll go over you if I believe you're wrong. But this wasn't one of them."

"We'll see, Grissom. We'll see."

Which left Gil Grissom to wonder: just who had gone over Conrad Ecklie's head, and why.

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An hour had passed since Lara and Greg's confession in the lab room, and she finally got up the courage to leave, hoping to find Tempeste and fresh coffee in the break room. She only got one wish.

"Umm…hi Greg. Is that fresh?"

Greg smiled awkwardly. "It will be in a minute or two. I…uh, I wanted to make some of my special blend, since it's your…all of your, first night."

At that moment Nick walked in, sniffing appreciatively. "Hey Greg is that the Blue Hawaiian?" He stopped as he saw the pair standing next to each other, looking as if they'd rather be anywhere else. "Ummm…why don't you just page me when it's done?" With that, he ducked out again, looking for Sara to discuss their case.

In the break room, Lara and Greg were looking anywhere but at each other. "Look," Lara started, "I know this is…weird…but-"

Greg cut her off. "Friends?" he asked, holding out his hand.

She smiled softly. "Yeah, friends." The silence returned, and Lara found herself wishing terribly that Tempeste were here. She always seemed to know just what to say. "Uhh… well, I should finish up some work," Lara finally said. "I'll come back when the coffee's done." She left quickly.

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Nick sat on the sofa in the break room. Tempeste, who had returned ten minutes earlier, was beside him. Gavin and Greg were both getting coffee, but Gavin left a moment later, sliding past Lara who was coming in.

Nick watched him go. "Gavin," he muttered. "I feel like I should know him, or something." He looked at Tempeste, and then it suddenly seemed to click. He stared from her, to Lara, to Greg, and back to Lara again. "Oooh. Gavin."

Lara closed her eyes, carefully avoiding looking at Greg, who stared intently out the break room window. "Um, I should go… analysis… finish," he muttered, leaving quickly.

Tempeste glared at Nick, who smiled sheepishly. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's okay, really," Lara assured him. "We worked it out, it's fine. We're just friends."

"Oh!" Nick nodded his head. "Right… That's too bad."

Lara stared at him. "What? Why?"

"Oh, um..." He looked around, wishing he hadn't said anything. But both girls were staring at him, and he clearly had to say _something_. "It's just… well, Greg's had a lot of girlfriends, but I've never seen his eyes light up quite like they did when he saw you on the bench that day."

"Oh… right…" Lara grew quiet. "Well, I should go do something." She left, leaving her coffee behind.

Tempeste smacked Nick's arm. "Wow Nick. Way to not make her feel worse..."

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By the end of the night, they had almost all managed to collect in the break room, which was a fairly tight squeeze. Grissom complimented them on an excellent night's work, giving the new members a quick, odd glance before leaving. Catherine followed shortly after, then Warrick, then Archie, then Sara, then Gabriel. Finally Tempeste, Nick, Greg and Lara were left.

"So, listen…" Nick pulled Tempeste away from the other two, who immediately looked over at them expectantly. "I was wondering, uhm… do you want a… ride home?" It was quite obvious from the inflections in his voice that that wasn't at all what he had in mind.

Tempeste grinned. "I'd love one, thanks."

As Nick beamed like a five-year old at Christmas, Greg caught Lara's eyes. As soon as Tempeste and Nick were out of earshot, they burst into laughter, their first relaxed moment all night.

Greg had pulled Lara to her feet, and they were just beginning to calm down when Gavin came in. He smiled at Lara. "Ready to go, sunshine?"

"Huh?" Lara glanced at him, still giggling. "Oh, yeah, sure. I just have to get some stuff from my locker." She turned back to Greg. "See you tonight, yeah?"

"Right, yeah… see ya." Greg nodded, but the grin on his face suddenly felt fake and forced. He watched them go, Gavin swinging an arm around Lara and pressing her tight against him as they walked away.

His smile disappeared completely.


	5. Blue Hawaiian

We're baaaack! Aren't you proud. Once again, we own nothing, yadda yadda, just Lara, Tempeste, Gavin and Gabriel... I think that's all there is to say.

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Lara looked up as the key clicked in the lock of her newfound apartment. The door opened and Tempeste came in. Lara raised her left eyebrow, flicking her tongue against her teeth. "And where have you been all day?"

"Oh, you know… out."

"Really?" Lara picked up an empty glass and headed into the kitchen. "Out with _Nicky_?"

"It's not like that!" Tempeste protested, rather half-heartedly.

"No, of course not."

"Seriously. We were watching a movie, and fell asleep."

"And what movie was this?"

"Um… _Muppet Treasure Island_?"

Lara snorted. "Well darling, I hope you got some sleep. Gabriel's picking us up in about twenty-five minutes."

"Shit!" Tempeste yelled, racing for the shower.

She got ready in record time, and was just collecting her things when Gabriel came in the door. He gave her a funny look. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she told him quickly. "Why?"

"You look… weird. Your face is red."

"Tempeste got laid!" Lara announced cheerfully, coming out of her bedroom.

"Shut up," Tempeste muttered as they all trooped out the door.

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They arrived a short time later, flashing their shiny new ID tags. Gabriel headed straight off to the computer tech lab while Tempeste left in search of Catherine. Lara, however, took her time, getting a lab coat from her locker before going to the break room in the hopes of fresh coffee. Greg was there yawning widely.

"You look tired," Lara informed him, more to say something than because there was any point in stating the obvious.

He smiled sleepily. "I'm exhausted. They called me in early to work a double."

Lara winced. "Ouch."

Greg shook his head. "All I know is that when Nick gets here I'm going to kick his pretty little Texan butt. He was supposed to come in, but apparently he was 'unreachable'."

At this Lara began to laugh, nearly dropping the coffeepot.

Greg looked over at her in amusement. "What?"

"Well all _I_ know is that Tempeste only got home about twenty-five minutes before we left."

Greg started to laugh too, before glancing at the clock. "Damn. I've got to get back to work. I'll see you later." He walked down the hall, wordlessly passing Gavin, who was coming in.

Gavin glanced down the hall after the departed CSI. "So, what's that all about?"

Lara glanced up at him quickly. "Sorry?"

"That Greg guy. Seems like a bit of a geek. I mean, does he ever leave work?"

Lara frowned. "I don't know where you get off judging people," she muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… maybe it wouldn't kill you to take a bit of work ethic, Gavin."

"Hey, sweetheart, calm down… I was only joking."

"Don't patronize me! You're always so critical, it drives me mad. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I… some people happen to _like_ geeks?"

Gavin stared at her, growing slightly annoyed. "What the hell are you talking about? You're acting like a complete psycho. Jesus Christ, don't jump down my throat! What's wrong with you?"

"You know what, forget about it." Lara spun around and headed for the DNA lab, not even noticing when she passed a confused Gabriel on the way.

Cautiously, he peered into the break room at Gavin. "What just happened? Did you two _fight_!"

Gavin looked just as confused. "I… don't… know…" He admitted.

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Lara looked around the DNA lab, but it was empty. She sunk down into her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Great," she muttered to herself. "You're going nuts."

A second later a face appeared over the other side of her the desk, and Lara shoved her chair backwards. "Holy shit!"

"Oh my god, I'm sorry!" The girl on the other side of the desk stood up. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just dropped my pen, and bent down to get it, and I didn't even hear you come in. You must be Lara, the new lab tech, right? Nick was telling me about you. I'm Wendy, by the way. God, it's going to be so great to have someone else besides Hodges here…" She trailed off, looking suddenly panicked. "He's not behind me, is he? Because Greg does that all the time."

Lara shook her head, looking amused. "No, he's not behind you."

Wendy seemed to realize she'd been babbling and she grinned rather guiltily. "I'm sorry; I get a bit nervous when I meet new people. I just, I like to know who I'm working with, you know?"

"Uh, yeah…" Lara agreed, feeling slightly breathless. She grinned and held out her hand. "I'm Lara Paradis. It's very nice to meet you."

Wendy looked relieved, and shook her hand vigorously. "It's nice to meet you too," she said, beaming. "Do you want to go out for lunch?"

"What?"

"Well, not now." She laughed. "Well obviously not now, because it's, like, midnight, so it'd be a really weird time for lunch and besides, we're working. But, you know… sometime, maybe?

Lara nodded. "Sure!"

"Great." Wendy suddenly realized that she was still shaking Lara's hand and stopped. "Okay, well, I'm going to go back to work. I'll see you later!" She headed off into one of the labs.

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Catherine knocked on Grissom's door just before shift started, walking in before he answered.

"Do you realize that you had three level-threes on a B and E last night?" she questioned incredulously.

"Amazingly Catherine, even I make mistakes sometimes. In any case it was all cleared up within two hours and Warrick and Nick were reassigned while Sara finished up the paperwork."

Catherine quirked one eyebrow delicately. "I take it you were a little surprised by our new additions?"

Grissom finally looked up from his paperwork. "Do you know why Ecklie called me off of the scene yesterday?"

"Because he's an uptight asshat?"

"He wanted to know why graveyard shift got four new workers. He thinks that I went about his head to get them. I had never even heard about them until two days ago. So here's what I want to know. Who are they, and why are they here?"

Catherine shrugged. "I think you're letting Ecklie get to you Gris. Honestly Tempeste is one of the best CSIs I've ever worked with, easily on par with anyone here. She didn't let her emotions get in the way of her work, and she got everything that needed to be done, done extremely efficiently. I don't know about the rest of them, but at this point I wouldn't let it worry you. You know what they say, don't look gift horses in the mouth."

Grissom frowned. "They also say, beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Assignments?" she prompted, before heading down to the break room.

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It was strange how much more crowded the break room seemed with just one extra person in it, Sara mused. Tempeste was chatting with Greg over by the coffee machine, apparently making herself a mug of tea. Greg seemed indignant about something; Sara grinned as his voice rose. "What do you mean, you don't drink coffee! This is not just coffee you know, this is Blue Hawaiian, this is rare! You can't be a CSI and not drink coffee."

Tempeste rolled her eyes. "Look, it's not an insult, I just don't like coffee. Tea has more caffeine anyway, if I need it. I _like_ green tea, so that's what I drink. Why would I want to get myself addicted to something that wrecks havoc with your body and stains your teeth."

Nick caught Sara's eye and the two struggled to cover their snickers. Thankfully, Grissom walked in to hand out assignments and all conversations were halted.

Grissom kept things short tonight. "Catherine, you and Tempeste will stick with your case. Sara's going to be working with you unless something else comes up. Nick, you and Greg have a body over at the university, Brass says it looks like it was dumped there—find out. Warrick, you've got a 419 in Westwood Hills, might be a B and E gone wrong." No one moved. "Hey, these cases won't solve themselves, let's go!"

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Sara looked in on Catherine. "Hey, trace has some results for you. Where's Tempeste?"

Catherine shrugged. "She was here a few minutes ago; she said she had an idea before she left. Check the DNA lab or the break room."

Finally Sara found her in the locker room, her back to the door, her head against the locker and her eyes closed. Sara cleared her throat harshly. "Uh, just so you know, napping is frowned upon on company time." Her tone was sarcastic, but her eyes weren't joking.

Tempeste looked up and smiled sheepishly, almost nervously. "Umm, I was going over the crime scene…you know, mentally." She held up a sheaf of photos, every inch of the scene covered. "I know it sounds crazy, it's just a habit I have. I'm so used to working with Lara and Gavin and Gabriel, I forgot that I might seem a bit unorthodox…I also tend to forget that not _everyone_ can read my mind." She chuckled. "I just wanted to get away from the noise for a minute and let the evidence…" she shrugged again, "talk to me."

Sara smiled back, albeit tentatively. "No, it's my fault, I jumped to a conclusion."

Tempeste grinned, standing up and stretching her neck. "Hey, it's an easy conclusion to jump to. You followed the evidence at hand."

She was taken aback for a moment, by this newcomer's easiness. Sara hadn't spent much time with her yet, but she got the feeling they could be friends. Sara was still a little suspicious, but it was starting to lift, if only a little. "By the way, trace has some results for you."

"Really! Great, just point me in the right direction." Tempeste hurried down the hall next to Sara, the two easily matching the other's strides.

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Greg was talking to Sara in the break room when Lara came in. He quickly put his coffee cup down. "I have Blue Hawaiian!" he announced proudly.

"Really? That's great!" Lara waited patiently as he poured her a cup, before taking a sip of the steaming beverage. "Wow Greg… that is amazing! It's the best cup of coffee I've ever had. Where'd you get it?"

He beamed at her. "I can't tell you that. But I'll tell you where it's hidden…" He leaned over and whispered in her ear, and despite herself, Lara began to grin.

"Seriously? That's fantastic."

Greg continued to beam as he left to get back to work. As soon as he was gone however, Lara set the cup down, pulling a face. Sara stared at her incredulously. "Don't tell me you don't like it either."

"Either?" Lara looked at her in surprise. "Oh… let me guess. Tempeste?"

Sara nodded. "Greg was heartbroken."

Lara couldn't help it; she started to laugh. "Poor Greg."

"So are you just going to pretend to like the Blue Hawaiian forever?"

Lara stared at the still steaming mug. "I guess so…"

"Wow. You must really like Greg."

"What? No. I just… feel bad. About his coffee, I mean." Sara gave her a funny look, and Lara quickly moved on to something else. "I wasn't really lying though. It was the best coffee I've ever had. I just… don't generally drink coffee. In fact, I don't really know people who drink coffee. My parents don't drink coffee, Temp's a tea-girl like me, the boys are just happy if there's alcohol in it… oh, I guess Gabby's father drinks coffee sometimes; he might appreciate it." She realized she'd been rambling and stopped suddenly. "Although, he does have a _really_ good hiding place."

Sara laughed. "Well, if he told you that, Greg must really like you."

Lara suddenly became immensely interested in the cabinetry work.

"Hey," Sara said. "Anyone who distracts Greg from asking me out is my friend."

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Lara and Wendy were finishing off paperwork, although not a lot of it was getting down. Instead, they were spending the time finding out what they had in common. It turned out that Lara was from France while Wendy could (sort of) speak French, they'd both been to Iceland twice, they both liked Pirates of the Caribbean _and_ Pirates of Penzance, neither of them had ever been to Disney World, and they both agreed that Greg was adorable.

"Okay," Wendy said. "How often… who is _that_?"

Lara turned to look and sighed, wincing slightly. "That would be Gavin."

Wendy stared at her. "You _know_ him? Oh my god, he is gorgeous."

Gavin came in the lab. "Hey."

"Hi." Lara smiled almost awkwardly. "Oh! Um, Gavin, this is Wendy. Wendy, this is Gavin."

"Hi!" Wendy giggled, scratching her left earlobe. "How are you?"

Gavin grinned. "Good thanks. And yourself?"

"Oh, I'm great." She seemed to realize that Lara and Gavin needed a minute. "Well, um… I should go finish up Warrick's analysis." She left quickly, accidentally knocking some papers to the floor in the process.

Lara turned to Gavin. "I work with her in the lab," she announced. "I really like her," she added, as though daring him to say something.

"Hey," he shook his head. "I think she's cute."

"Oh. Okay then." Lara turned back to her work.

"Listen… I just came to apologize for earlier… I, um… I shouldn't have said anything."

Lara sighed. It was quite obvious that he wasn't really sure what he was apologizing for. She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I flew at you for no real reason… I'm just… stressed."

Gavin grinned a little wider. "How about we're both sorry and we call it even?"

Lara nodded. "Great."

"Okay." He bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Later, darling!"

"Bye," Lara called as he left, wondering whether or not she really was sorry.


	6. Double Gee

Once again, we do not own CSI. Or Rent, for that matter.

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Greg and Nick had been reassigned to what appeared to have been a murder-suicide in Henderson. They had gathered the evidence and Nick was taking the gun to ballistics to be analyzed. Walking down the hall, he could see Gavin through the glass, inspecting something and talking to Lara simultaneously. As Nick came in, Lara shook her head and laughed before leaving. "Hey Nick," she called as she passed him in the doorway. 

"Hey," he said before turning to Gavin. "Can you cross-reference this gun with the bullets found in the girl at the crime scene?"

"Sure thing," Gavin agreed without looking up. "It's going to be a little bit though. I'm completely swamped." He grinned. "Why does everyone have to use guns? What happened to a good, old-fashioned sword fight?"

Nick laughed too, but didn't leave straight away. "So are you and Lara, you know… dating?"

Gavin did look up then. "Yes. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just wondering, that's all." He started to go.

"Oh, no way," Gavin said, staring at Nick steadily, and looking slightly dangerous. "Why do you ask?"

"Um…" Nick scratched the back of his head quickly. "Well, it's just, um… Greg talks about her a lot, so I thought I'd just, you know… find out if she was available." He ran out the door.

He saw Tempeste walking down the hall next to Sara and Catherine, the three deep in conversation. He grabbed Tempeste's arm as she passed, pulling her backwards a few steps. She raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"This'll just take a sec," Nick promised his other two coworkers, glancing around before forcing Tempeste into the supply closet.

"Only a sec?" She asked him. "That's no fun; it took much longer this morning."

He shook his head, "It sounds great, but no, not what I wanted to ask. Is Gavin really a jealous guy?"

"Why? Did you want to join him and Lara? Because I'm sure Lara wouldn't say no—although Gavin might be a bit squeamish."

"Temp! Please! Concentrate here."

Tempeste threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "Why are you freaking out?"

Nick shrugged. "I may have accidentally mentioned Greg in Gavin's vicinity."

"And..."

"I may also have mentioned that he likes her."

"Nicholas! What in God's name possessed you to do that? I thought you liked Greg."

"I do."

"Well do you like him alive?" she demanded.

"Oh Jesus," Nick muttered, rubbing his hand across his forehead. "So he's really jealous?"

Tempeste bit her lip, trying to remember any particular incident that might shed some light on the situation. "I don't know, I mean Lara's really good at taking care of herself, and they've only had eyes for each other so long as I've known them."

"So where does Greg fit in?"

"I really don't know. I mean, Lara and Gavin always seemed fine, but it just feels like something's off—like they're just going through the motions. I don't know if they've even noticed anything, or if it's just from settling in here, but I'm picking up on it, and I think even Gabriel thinks something's a little odd, although he probably thinks it's the new coffee." She rolled her eyes. "Look, just don't say anything to anyone, even if you're trying to make it better. Gavin probably didn't even notice you being weird, he doesn't know you yet so really, how bad can it be?"

Nick shook his head again. "You just _had_ to say it, didn't you?"

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Greg headed into ballistics to see what Gavin had to tell them. It had been three hours since Nick had dropped off the evidence, so it should have been ready by now. He popped in the doorway. "Hey, have you finished the analysis?"

"Yes," Gavin answered shortly, not even bothering to turn toward him. He busied himself with other work.

Greg waited for nearly two minutes. "Um… can I have it?"

Without a word, Gavin got to his feet. He picked up a small file and slammed it at Greg before turning back to what he'd been doing.

"Uh… thanks." Greg started to turn away, and then turned back. "Are you alright?"

Gavin looked up at him, blinking once. "Am I alright?" he repeated, his voice low. "Oh yeah, I'm fucking fantastic." Greg was suddenly sorry he'd asked. Gavin got to his feet, coming to stand before Greg. He was about an inch shorter, but he certainly didn't seem it. "Listen, I don't know exactly what sort of deluded fantasy you have about you and Lara, but stay away from my girl, yeah?"

Greg stared at him, knowing he should just agree and back away quickly. But he didn't. "You know what? Maybe you should screw off and let _your girl_ make her own decisions." Glaring at Gavin, he walked away.

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Catherine glanced up as Tempeste joined her partners, noticing she didn't look more rumpled than she had going into the closet. "What was that all about?"

The young CSI shrugged. "I really don't know—probably nothing. Nick just might have stirred up a bit of trouble with Gavin."

"Because of Greg and Lara?"

Tempeste whipped around to face Sara. "How…what…huh?"

"Not your most eloquent statement ever," Grissom said from the doorway. "Catherine, there's a phone call for you at the front."

Catherine left the duo, her mind already concocting the worst possible scenarios involving her rebellious daughter. Sara and Tempeste ignored the earlier conversation, reviewing the information as if the answer would suddenly appear.

"Hey," Sara said suddenly. "Didn't the boyfriend say he was out of town the night of the murder?"

Tempeste flipped open the folder. "Yep; says that he left at four-thirty and didn't get back until the next day."

"Well he has a parking ticket for his car placing him at The Cat Scratch Club at nine that night."

"So he was in town. Not solid enough to make him our guy."

"There's got to be something else."

They went back to their work in silence, eventually giving up hope of Catherine's return and making their way to the break room for a snack. Leaning back in the couch waiting for her tea to steep Tempeste tried to remember if there had been anything out of place at the crime scene that they hadn't already caught.

"Hey Sara!"

"Yeah."

"Would you say the vic was a feather boa, rhinestone type of girl?"

Sara shook her head. "No, there wasn't anything like that in her bedroom or her jewelry box. Why?"

"Catherine found a bit of black plastic feathers on the corner of the coffee table next to the body; there was a rhinestone letter 'I' caught in it, like one of those personalized necklaces."

"We need to go to the Cat Scratch Club."

"Hey," Tempeste said with a grin. "Take me out tonight."

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Catherine hung up the phone, tears of frustration gathering in the corners of her eyes. She stood by the desk for a moment, gathering her wits about her, and when she turned she walked straight into Warrick. "Hi," she said to him, hoping he didn't notice her distress.

No such luck. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone but Warrick. "It's Lindsey. I thought we were working though everything and that she was getting better, and getting back on the straight and narrow."

"And…"

She gestured toward the phone, shrugging her shoulders. "That was Lindsey's homeroom teacher. Apparently she hasn't been handing in work, or showing up to class on time, and she's been ignoring her old friends and hanging out with a group of older kids who are known to cause trouble, and I…I don't know how to reach her."

Warrick pulled her against him without thinking, wrapping her in a hug. "It'll work out Cath, I know it. Lindsey's a good kid; she just needs to remember it."

Sara and Tempeste ran by. "Hey Cath," Sara called. "We got a lead; we're heading out to the Cat Scratch Club to check it out."

"Do you need me?" Catherine asked, extracting herself from her coworker's arms.

"No! We can handle it." The pair was already out the door, waving goodbye and talking a mile a minute.

"You wanna talk for a bit?"

Catherine shook her head. "No, I'm just going to go over the evidence until they get back. I'll be fine."

Warrick nodded and turned to walk away, glancing back when Catherine called his name. "'Rick! Thanks."

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The team was gathered for their debriefing, Tempeste and Sara congratulating themselves on another case closed. Quickly enough the team had split up, to breakfast, to bed, to the coffee pot.

Only Lara and Gavin remained, collecting their things as they got ready to leave. "So." Gavin turned to Lara, who was leaning over the table with her back to him. He grinned; after the difficulties with Greg, he felt the need to assert his claim over her. "I was thinking. We could head back to my place, you know, maybe put in a movie…" He stood behind her, trailing her fingers up her side.

Lara inhaled sharply, turning to face him. "Are you kidding me?"

Gavin looked taken aback, but he recovered quickly. "Darling, I joke about a lot of things, but sex isn't one of them."

"You want to have _sex_?" She stared at him. "Gavin, I have a day job, I have a night job. But my night job is during the day and my day job is during the night, and sometimes I even have jobs on my lunch break, but since my day job is at night, they're really more like midnight snack breaks, but my shift _starts _at midnight, so they're really 4am breaks, and I don't even know what day it _is_, and you want to have _sex_?"

She stared at him incredulously for a moment longer before brushing past him and out the door. Gavin was left looking after her, wondering what had just happened.

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Lara stared blankly at the television, eating her orange sorbet straight from the container. Tempeste was out with Nick again, and she was left alone. The phone rang and she picked it up mechanically. "Huh-woo?" she answered with a mouth full of ice cream.

"Hi?"

Lara swallowed. "Greg?"

"Yeah… are you okay? I can call back later, if you like."

"No, it's okay!" she said quickly. "I just… ice cream."

"Right."

There was moment of silence.

"Sorry," Greg said. "I couldn't sleep."

"So you decided to call and wake me up?"

"But you were eating ice cream, how could you have been asleep?"

Lara laughed, not even noticing that within a minute of talking to Greg, her inexplicable anger had melted away. "Fine, you win."

"So, why are you still up?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Try me. I could use something to put me to sleep."

"Funny." Lara sighed. "Um, I think I'm losing my mind, so I guess that could be what's keeping me awake."

"Really? What's up?"

"Well… I turned down sex with Gavin today, which has happened, um, oh gee… _never_."

"Really? Well, that's… weird." Greg wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, and was starting to wonder if maybe he shouldn't have asked. He wandered into the kitchen, pouring a glass of water. "You must have some deep psychological problem. That's generally a turn-off, for me anyway."

"I don't know… I feel like Gavin's changed. Or maybe I've changed. Who knows?"

"He threatened me today!" Greg volunteered cheerfully, before wishing he'd kept his mouth shut.

"What?" Lara sat up on her sofa, switching the phone to her other ear. "This is Gavin we're talking about, yeah? _Gavin_ threatened you?"

"Yeah… well, no. I mean, yeah, but it wasn't anything major."

Lara still sounded shocked. "What about?"

Greg winced, even as he said the word. "You."


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